


Five Christmases Nick and Cassie Spent Together

by MaeveBran



Category: Push (2009)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-19
Updated: 2012-12-19
Packaged: 2017-11-21 13:24:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/598251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaeveBran/pseuds/MaeveBran
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five glimpses into the life that Nick and Cassie had after the end of the movie. They go around the world taking down division and still finding a way to celebrate the holidays.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Five Christmases Nick and Cassie Spent Together

**Author's Note:**

  * For [musesfool](https://archiveofourown.org/users/musesfool/gifts).



> Cassie is 17 at the time of any sex in the story.
> 
> Thanks to my Beta (whose name I'll edit in after the reveal).

The first Christmas that Nick Gant and Cassie Holmes spent together was ten months after they met and four months after Cassie’s fourteenth birthday. They were in Paris, France. There was snow lightly on the ground and they had a cheap apartment within walking distance of a Metro station and had been there since Cassie’s birthday.

There is nothing more romantic than a teenage girl’s mind. So to Cassie, it was all so romantic. She knew that someday, a few years from now, she and Nick would be romantically involved. So what if she planted the seeds here, while they were in the City of Lights? It would be perfect. They’d take long walks along the Seine and end up in a café for coffee.

The weeks leading up to Christmas day went much like Cassie thought they would. They took a couple of walks along the river, saw some of the sights like the Eifel Tower and the Louvre. Cassie was happy. Nick thought she was just enjoying not being chased and being able to do normal tourist things, between running cons to make money. Instead, Cassie was enjoying not being chased and being able to pretend that she was in one of the most romantic cities with her boyfriend.

Nick and Cassie were just leaving their favorite boulangerie with their Christmas bread on the afternoon of Christmas Eve when Cassie had a vision. She dug in her shoulder bag for her pens and a pad of paper and started drawing.

“What is it?” Nick asked anxiously.

“We have to leave,” Cassie said dragging him towards the Metro.

By the time that the more religious of the city were flocking to the cathedrals for Midnight Mass, Nick and Cassie were on a train that was crossing into Germany. By sunup, they were in Munich. They found a room in a low-rent hotel. They did their usual settling in routine, he put his guns in the drawer of the night stand and she put her pad of paper and pens on top of it.

Nick pulled out a small brightly wrapped package from his duffel bag and moved it over to sit next to her on her bed.

“Merry Christmas, Cassie,” he said.

“I have something for you too,” Cassie said as she dug in her bag and produced a small but more neatly wrapped package. She walked over and handed it to him. “Merry Christmas, Nick.”

Cassie ripped into her package and found a pair of fancy and pretty costume jewelry hair barrettes with colorful glass beaded butterflies on them.

“Thank you Nick,” Cassie said. “They’re beautiful.”

“You’re welcome,” he said. “Now let’s see what you got me.”

Nick opened his package to find that she had bought him a copy of Hoyle’s Official Rules for Card Games. He laughed.

“What is this for?” he asked.

“So you know the rules of the games before you try to cheat at them,” Cassie explained.

“It will come in handy,” Nick admitted.

They spent the rest of the day watching German television and making up outlandish stories for what was happening on-screen.

 

The second Christmas that Nick and Cassie spent on the run was spent in a place that many wouldn’t consider a great Christmas destination – Singkawang, Indonesia. But it really worked for Cassie, who hadn’t known any Norman Rockwell Christmases. The sun and sand of the beach on the South China Sea was as good a place as any.

This year, Cassie was fifteen and much more mature than last year. Last year’s massive crush on her traveling companion had mutated to actual love. Cassie did still treasure the visions she had periodically seen of her and Nick in bed together, but this year she was content to wait the year or two it would take to get there. This year there was no pretending to be anything but what they were.

They had reached Singkawang two days ago and Cassie knows that they’ll need to get some information from a former Division Stich later in the week and be gone before New Year’s Day, but that is later in the week. Today, Christmas Day, they’re playing tourist on the beach. They purchased two cheap bamboo mats, a Styrofoam cooler they filled with a picnic, and swim-wear and then hit the beach.

They waded in the surf, but kept an eye out for dangerous jellyfish that often haunt that coast. Nick picked Cassie up and tossed her into the sea. Cassie yelped and swallowed a bunch of salt water. She came up sputtering. Nick laughed at her and she sank to her knees in the surf and under the cover of the water pulled at his foot until he fell backwards into the water. He sputtered at the water trying to get into his mouth and grinned. Eventually they went back to the mat to let the warm equatorial sun dry them.

Nick reached into his bag and pulled out a soft and squishy package and handed it to her. “Merry Christmas, Cass.”

Cassie took the package and tore the paper off quickly. She found it was a length of cloth. She stood up and shook it out to find he had bought her a Batik sarung. She quickly wrapped it around her waist and it was just the right length.

“It’s beautiful,” she said as she twisted to see the way the dark blue, grey and white of the end looked in front with the light blue, grey, and brown of the rest of the fabric wrapped around her. “Thank you, Nick.”

“I thought it might look good on you,” he admitted. “I was right you look like a native, as native as any white girl can anyway.”  
Cassie smiled and sat down again. She dug in her bag, under her beach towel, and pulled out a soft package as well. “I got something for you.”

“You didn’t have to,” Nick protested unsuccessfully. He might want her to save her money and limit her exposure in any public place, but deep down he was secretly pleased that she cared enough to get him something. He tore through the wrapping and shook out a batik shirt. It was a dark blue that would match her sarung. Nick laughed at the coincidence.

“In my defense, “ Cassie said. “I was trying to find something that matched your eyes.”

“That was what I was going for too,” Nick laughed as he buttoned the shirt on.

“You were trying to match your own eyes?” Cassie asked as she laughed too.

“No. I was trying to match yours,” he said. Then he noticed the teasing smile she wore and reached over and ruffled her hair.

“On that note I think it is time to get back to the room,” Cassie said as she gathered up her stuff and packed away the garbage in an empty plastic bag she brought along for that purpose. “I can feel my skin starting to burn even with that SPF-70 I put on.”

They packed up and returned to their hotel. After showers, they dressed in nice clothes that included their new presents and went for dinner at a place fancier then they normally would. It was one of the best Christmases Cassie had ever had.

 

The third Christmas was spent holed up in a cabin in the Coast Mountains of British Columbia between Whistler and Vancouver. They had gotten into a fire fight when liberating a bunch of Specials from a Division facility on Vancouver Island. One of the rescued Watchers was the daughter of a real estate agent in the area and the cabin was his vacation home. So he lent it to Nick and Cassie while they healed from their wounds. Cassie had mostly scrapes and bruises but Nick had taken a bullet to the thigh because he had thrown himself in front of her. 

The fight had been worth it. The intel gathered that there were just a few big Division centers left to take out had been encouraging. So had the news that they weren’t in danger just yet. There was one future that would have them leaving by the end of the week but that future wasn’t certain yet. Any way it played out, they were safe until after Christmas.

Cassie had tried to make the cabin more festive. She had found a pair of pruning shears in the shed next to the wood pile and taken them to the evergreens around the edge of clearing the cabin sat in. She hauled her pile in and set about decorating the mantle over the fire place, the window sills and the coffee table with the small branches.

“What are you doing?” Nick asked from the couch. He had his wounded leg propped up on some pillows and was trying to read a detective novel someone had left lying around.

“I’m decorating for Christmas,” Cassie said, like it was something she did every year. It was actually the first time she’d ever had the chance. She didn’t know why she was doing it other than it was December 23 and she had access to greenery. Well actually that wasn’t true. She was doing it for Nick because the moment she picked up the pruning shears she saw the delighted, goofy grin on Nick’s face when she had the cabin decorated and pillar candles on the coffee table lit. She hadn’t been able to get him a gift this year and this would be what she did instead.

“Why?” Nick asked. He was curious. Cassie and he didn’t really do much fuss for Christmas other than having a day to goof off and exchange simple gifts. So why was she going all Martha Stewart all of the sudden?

Cassie dug in the cabinet beside the fire place and found three cream-colored pillar candles, that must be in case of loss of power, and placed them between the boughs of evergreen. “Because I’ve never really had a Christmas with decorations and this seemed like the chance to do it.”

“Ok,” Nick said. He wanted to make sure that Cassie hadn’t gotten it into her head to make a bigger deal out of the holiday this year. He had been unable to get her anything between planning the raid, carrying it out, and getting injured in it. He knew she was going to be disappointed and wanted to make sure she wasn’t devastated.

Cassie finished her decorating and went back to the shed for some more firewood to build up the pile beside the fire place. She had had a second vision while decorating and that was of the cabin losing power in the middle of the night. She didn’t want to try to get the wood in the dark.

Sure enough the power went out due to a tree falling on the line in the middle of the night. Cassie woke when the reassuring sounds of electrical appliances quit humming. Nick had slept on the couch since there was only the one bed. Cassie crept out into the living room, lit the center candle, by feel, and started the fire. Then she went back to the bed room and grabbed her covers and made a bed on the floor between the fireplace and the couch.

She was bending to blow out the candle when Nick opened his eyes and grinned at her. She grinned back and blew out the candle.  
The next morning, Cassie was wakened by a crutch bumping her. Nick had been trying to sneak past her to the kitchen. But it is hard to sneak when you’re on crutches.

“Morning, sunshine,” he said as Cassie stretched and sat up. The way she moved and the way the flannel of her pajamas tightened showed Nick that she wasn’t the skinny little girl he had met anymore, but was rapidly becoming a woman. A fact that had awkwardly hit home when a month into their adventure together, he’d had to explain why she wasn’t dying but growing up. He’d put it out of his mind, because really there were lots of things he wished he could forget and that was the top of the list. Sure he could go to a Wiper and have it erased, but he didn’t want to waste the money and the feeling of having holes in his memory wasn’t that comfortable either so he only did it when it would mean their lives if he didn’t. He tried not to dwell on the fact that Cassie was growing up. It led to thoughts he shouldn’t be having. That, or the thought that when they finally freed her Mother, she’d leave to find a man she could settle down with. Both those thoughts were not good.

Nick shook his head and continued to the kitchen where he used the small propane camp stove to heat water for instant coffee. The kitchen was well stocked, so Nick made some oatmeal and then turned to try to take his mug and bowl and crutches back to the couch. It was not going to work.

“Let me get that for you,” Cassie said as she came out of the bedroom, now dressed in a warm sweater and jeans. 

“Thanks,” Nick said as he hobbled back to the couch. “The leg is feeling better. I should be able to leave these things here when we leave.” He gestured to the crutches.

“Good,” Cassie said as she handed him his coffee and set the bowl on the coffee table. She went back and made her own oatmeal and some hot chocolate and joined him before the fire.

The day passed slowly in a never-ending round of stoke the fire, get food, and play a game to pass the time. Three games of Monopoly and four of Gin Rummy later, Cassie was sitting next to him on the couch, drinking hot chocolate and watching the fire. She glanced at the battery powered clock on the mantle- Midnight.

“Merry Christmas,” Cassie said as she lightly bumped his shoulder.

“Merry Christmas to you too,” Nick said as he smiled at her. “I didn’t get you anything this year, there just wasn’t time.”

“You’re here,” Cassie said. “That is the important thing.”

“I thought so too,” Nick agreed.

Cassie set her mug down and leaned against him. He lifted his arm and pulled her into his side. She rested her head against his shoulder. They watched the fire until they fell asleep. Two days later they were in Mexico chasing down a lead on a remaining Division facility.

 

The fourth Christmas, Nick and Cassie were in Bangkok and mid-raid, on the last large Division base, when the clock struck midnight for Christmas. They managed to free a dozen more Specials and find more information for a private Division research center in the States. They were getting closer to finding Cassie’s Mother. They had narrowed down that she was still being held in the States.   
They managed to escape the fire fight with no major injuries. They got the Specials to safe houses or on trains and planes to other places and then headed to the house they had rented. Cassie knew that the Sniffs would be after them in a few days but now they were safe enough.

The adrenaline was still running high in Cassie and Nick as they walked through the door knowing they were safe. The central power of Division had been taken out and all that was left were the mop-up operations of the smaller and far flung labs. She was practically dancing in excitement. Nick shook his head and smiled as watched her. It amused him that four years later, Cassie still had this reaction to the adrenaline and hadn’t figured how to deal with it.

Cassie knew that soon she’d find another way to deal. Her visions had told her that. She twirled around the room and tripped on her feet. She felt herself falling and then suddenly she was wrapped in Nick’s arms. She looked up into to his eyes and then stretched up to kiss him.

Nick was slightly shocked. He had started to see Cassie as the woman she was growing to be since last Christmas but still this was new. He had thought he was the only one having these feelings. But there was Cassie trying to stick her tongue into his mouth. He started to pull away and be good, but she wrapped her arms around his neck. That was it. Nick gave up trying to be noble and returned the kiss.  
Cassie was thrilled when Nick started returning her kiss. It was happening as she had seen since the week after they met. He was wrapping his arms tighter around her and picking her up. He carried her toward the one bed in the house. It should be familiar by now. They had shared the bed, just to sleep, for the five nights it took to plan today’s raid, but this was different. This was sleeping together where no one got any actual sleep. She pulled him down with her when he set her down on the bed.

“Are you sure about this, Cassie?” Nick asked, now that he’d been distracted from the wonder of kissing her.

“I’ve been looking forward to this since just after we left Hong Kong,” Cassie said. Sure they had been back to the city since they met.   
They had had to take down Pop Girl’s remaining family and the other members of Division that weren’t at the construction site. They'd had to make a couple trips to see Emily Hu as well. But when Hong Kong was mentioned in the “since Hong Kong” manner, they always understood it to mean when they had met. 

“You thought about us? In Bed?” Nick asked incredulously. “At thirteen?”

“I kind of had no choice,” Cassie answered as she leaned in to kiss him again.

“What do you mean?” he asked, pulling back in slight shock, clearly all thought of sex having left his mind, at least for the moment.

“I had a vision of us, here, like this,” she replied as she whipped off her tee shirt. “But a lot more naked.”

Nick was stunned. Part of him was surprised that a thirteen-year-old would have those visions, though if he thought about it, it would make sense. And another part of him was turned on by the thought of her having seen what was coming and still going for it. That must say something about his skills in her visions. He got with the program and shed his clothes in record time before he could rethink this.

Cassie stopped thinking. A naked Nick, while not really a new sight since about once a year she accidentally walked into the bathroom when he was getting out of the shower (not that she went,” Today is the First of August, I must walk in on Nick.” It just happened when they shared cheap hotel rooms four years. Bathroom door locks weren’t a high priority for the management of the kinds of hotels they frequented and when you had to go, you had to go.), but this was a new context so she was going to take advantage of the opportunity to look her fill.

A while later, when breathing had returned to normal and they were laying there, Cassie turned to face him.

“Merry Christmas, Nick,” she said.

“Is it Christmas again, already?” he asked.

“Yep, as of,” she answered as she looked over at the bedside travel clock. “About eight hours ago.” She looked up to his face so close to hers. “Once again I didn’t get you anything.”

“I think you did,” Nick smirked. “And it was the best present ever.”

“I’d hope so,” Cassie said. He leaned over and kissed her. The Christmas celebrations were repeated several times over, well into Boxing Day. Then it was time to leave Thailand and work on the last of the small Division facilities, getting closer and closer to actually finding and freeing Sarah Frank. Cassie was sure this was the year it would happen.

 

The fifth Christmas found Cassie and Nick married and living in Las Vegas. They had hit town the day before her eighteenth birthday. A week later they had gotten married and Nick had found a job in the Casino that was housing the last experiment that was all that remained of Division. The Casino had hired the Watchers, including Cassie’s Mom, Sarah Frank, to Watch for cheaters before they cheat, and Movers to man the Roulette and Craps tables.

It had been agreed that the day for the last raid, by Nick and the other Specials he had made friends with and had agreed to help, would be Christmas Day. That was the day that the casino was understaffed and those on duty were the newest hires that couldn’t get the day off because their superiors had made the request months ago. Cassie had done all she could to see the raid went as smoothly as possible. She had wanted to be there when they freed her Mother, but for once, Nick hadn’t given in to her pleading. He had stood firm and insisted that no wife of his was going to join a raid while eight and a half months pregnant. So all Cassie had been able to do was give him detailed information about guards, rotations, and building plans that weren’t on the official ones. Then she was left home.  
Cassie had tried to keep busy while Nick was gone. She paced the small house they had rented. She had gotten and made a few simple decorations and had put them up. She paced some more. Maybe the walking would relieve the back ache she’d been having all afternoon.

It was just getting dark when Nick opened the front door and helped Sarah in to the house. She was whole and mostly all right, just weak and pale from years of being confined and not allowed outside. She looked around and saw her daughter. She pushed away from Nick and ran to Cassie. 

Cassie flung her arms around her Mother. Sure she hadn’t seen her in more than five years, but still she was her mother.

“Mom,” Cassie said, but anything else she was going to say was cut off in a moan of pain.

Nick rushed over to them. “Cass, honey, what’s wrong?”

“She’s in labor,” Sarah said. “I saw this happening.”

“Of course you did,” Nick muttered. “So what do we do?”

“Well, there isn’t time to get her to the hospital,” Sarah said. “So just take her to the bedroom.”

Nick swooped her up and carried her to the bedroom.

An hour later, a tired and sore, but happy Cassie held out her newborn son to his father. “Merry Christmas, Nick.”

Nick took the child and said. “Best Christmas present ever.”

“It is,” Sarah agreed. “To finally have my whole family together and free…”

“Did you ever see this coming, Mom?” Cassie asked.

“I did,” she admitted. “From the day I told you to go to Hong Kong.” She stroked a finger across the baby’s cheek. “I also see that this little one will grow up loved by both parents.” She looked at both Cassie and Nick. “And I don’t need to be a Watcher to see that.”

They spent the rest of the holiday planning the rest of their lives. It was the best of the five Christmases that Nick and Cassie had spent together, but there were many more to come, they all agreed it would be hard to top this one.


End file.
